Officials in the US say they stopped a hacking operation backed by China that was going after people. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said that these hacking attempts might happen again, especially if the US starts a war with China.
According to reports, Volt Typhoon, a hacking group backed by the Chinese government, wanted to attack public sector buildings such as water treatment plants, oil and gas companies, and transportation and electric businesses.
Chris Wray, the director of the FBI, said on Wednesday that Beijing is preparing to attack the United States in a way that would make many Americans’ daily lives difficult. He talked about the situation and said that the possible Chinese hacking hadn’t been talked about enough in public.
Wray said, “China’s hackers are coordinating on American infrastructure to cause chaos and real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if and when China decides it is time to strike.”
FBI says that Chinese hackers were able to take over hundreds of routers in homes and businesses owned by Americans and businesses. They said that these routers were easy targets because they didn’t have any security or software changes. The hackers were said to have hacked internet and cloud service companies, among other places because they could pretend to be normal traffic.
Officials from both the FBI and the DOJ said that search and seize orders helped them stop at least some of the Volt Typhoon operation’s plans.
Some people are worried that Chinese hackers will try to get into more American technology and very important businesses, like water and power companies, which could mess up the lives of millions of Americans. Officials want more attention to be paid to the danger of these cyberattacks because they can affect a lot of Americans and could cause “societal panic and chaos.”
